It has been set at the purchasing equivalent of $475 (£299) a month, well above the countries' minimum wages.

In Bangladesh, for example, the floor wage is more than six times the value of the current minimum wage, while in Sri Lanka it is more than three times.

The other countries involved are China, India, Indonesia and Thailand.

Asia Floor Wage

Country

Floor Wage

Minimum Wage

Source: Labour Behind the Label

Bangladesh

10,754 taka

1,662 taka

China

1,638.75 yuan

687 yuan

India

6,968.25 rupees

4,238 rupees

Indonesia

1,868,650 rupiah

972,604 rupiah

Sri Lanka

16,705.75 rupees

5,046 rupees

Thailand

7,566.75 baht

4,368 baht

'Out of reach'

The report's author, Anna McMullen, says that it is an ambitious project.

"If it's going to happen it will have to be in all these countries at the same time," she says. "At the moment it seems well out of our reach."

The figure was calculated by asking groups in each country to work out how much it would cost to provide daily meals of 3,000 calories for an adult and 1,500 for a child, as well as non-food costs, for a standard family of two adults and two children.

Labour Behind the Label then took a wage level in the mid-point of those submitted by the countries.

"It's going to shift the focus away from what the living wage is and towards how it can be implemented," Ms McMullen says.

The debate about what would count as a living wage has been a focus for campaigners for some time.

Labour Behind the Label hopes that it will now be able to persuade companies, suppliers and eventually governments to support the floor wage.

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